1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in the tool described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,172, and in particular to a nut and bolt starter consisting of a wire having a diameter of 0.070 or less, a handle at one end of the shaft, and a nut or bolt head engaging element formed by an appropriately shaped loop at the other end of the shaft, the loop terminating in a unshaped section.
In addition, the invention relates to a modular tool system that includes a common handle to which can be fitted tools of the above type with different loop diameters and is shapes, as well as sockets or bits corresponding to those of a conventional socket wrench.
2. Description of Related Art
The tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,172 provides a convenient way to handle nuts and bolts in situations where there is not enough space to permit the mechanic to hold a nut or bolt while its complementary bolt or nut is threaded into position from the opposite side of the members being joined.
As disclosed in the above-cited patent and illustrated in FIG. 1, the tool includes a shaft 1 made of steel spring wire having a diameter of 0.090 inches and a handle 2 at one end, the wire terminating at the other end in a loop 3 having a diameter slightly smaller that the diameter of a nut or bolt 4 to be held by the loop. When the loop 3 is expanded slightly, the shape of the loop is such that the nut or bolt 4 is gripped sufficiently tightly by the loop to permit the loop to hold the nut or bolt as it is moved into a desired position opposite the bolt or nut 5 to be threaded into or onto the nut or bolt 4. The tool described in the above-cited patent has the advantage of simple construction and yet is extremely useful because of its ability to position nuts and bolts in spaces that are completely inaccessible to conventional wrenches, and that are far smaller than the human hand. Nevertheless, the inventor of the present invention, who is also the inventor of the tool described in the previous patent, has observed to disadvantages of the prior tool. The first is that the prior tool cannot be used to access areas where there is significant curvature, because of the relative stiffness of the 0.090 inch spring wire used in its construction. The second is that the tip of the loop end of the shaft of the prior tool is reversely bent in on itself by a 360.degree. angle to form a second loop 6, which is said to obviously prevent inadvertently hooking other parts during use, but which turns out to complicate manufacture of the tool because it makes it impossible to manufacture the tool on a kick press.